Watching the Political Signs of the Times
By Brother Rogers
It’s been said that politics makes a great spectator sport. If that is so, then election years are especially fun times to watch.
I actually enjoy seeing all the political signs in yards and along the road. My son and I critique them like sorority girls watching a beauty pageant. The best ones to me contain the candidate’s name in large letters, along with the office. Since only the name and office will appear on the ballot, I wonder why so many signs have other distractions.
Some signs have a large picture of the candidate, which would be helpful if that picture was also on the ballot. Alas, it is not, which means a picture on a sign is only a distraction that also keeps the letters from being larger and more readable. I drove by a sign for state treasurer and all I remember is some guy’s big head but no name.
If the purpose of a candidate’s yard sign is name recognition, then it should be designed to maximize the possibility that someone can drive by and quickly identify a name and an office. I would argue that name recognition is not helped by pictures, stars, fireworks, flags, and anything else that distracts the eye from the name.
The same goes for words that are superfluous on a sign. Words like “elect,” “help elect,” “vote” and “please vote” seem excessive to me. If we see a political sign in an election year that says “Jane Doe, State Representative,” don’t we know that the sign implies that we vote for or help elect her to that position? Does anyone see such a sign without those words and ponder, “I wonder if that sign is telling me to vote for her?”
When I see those extra words, I want to erase them and then enlarge the name of the candidate on the sign. Perhaps these extra words are a product of our Southern hospitality. It just wouldn’t be proper manners to leave out “please” or “help.”
The only exception to the superfluous words is “re-elect.” In Mississippi politics, the incumbent definitely has an advantage. The adage used to be “once elected, always elected.” While that is not necessarily true anymore, it’s true enough that “re-elect” (in small letters, mind you) has its place on a sign.
How about campaign commercials on television? They can be fun to watch too. I have heard that including children in a commercial is always a winner. But if you really want folks to pay attention to a commercial, show a dog. Who can resist a golden retriever being patted on the head by a friendly-looking candidate? Most of us would like that person even if we didn’t know what party they were or what office they sought.
Whether you vote for him or not, can we all agree that Delbert Hosemann has the best political commercials on TV? They were great four years ago, and he wisely decided, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He took a negative and turned it into a positive. Delbert is not the most attractive or intelligent name, but he realized name recognition is the key. I predict Herbert, I mean Delbert, will run for higher office one day and use the same type of commercial with success.
Finally, it’s interesting to watch candidates run for office by distancing themselves from government. They want to be a leader in government, in some cases to be the top person in government, and they gain support by claiming to know nothing about it. No other job applicant would ever do such a thing.
One candidate with no legislative experience was bragging about it recently. His opponent responded, “He’s like a car mechanic going around asking to fix your car, when he’s never even set foot in a garage.”
If politics makes a good spectator sport, then fasten your seat belt. The next 18 months will be a bumpy ride.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.
It’s been said that politics makes a great spectator sport. If that is so, then election years are especially fun times to watch.
I actually enjoy seeing all the political signs in yards and along the road. My son and I critique them like sorority girls watching a beauty pageant. The best ones to me contain the candidate’s name in large letters, along with the office. Since only the name and office will appear on the ballot, I wonder why so many signs have other distractions.
Some signs have a large picture of the candidate, which would be helpful if that picture was also on the ballot. Alas, it is not, which means a picture on a sign is only a distraction that also keeps the letters from being larger and more readable. I drove by a sign for state treasurer and all I remember is some guy’s big head but no name.
If the purpose of a candidate’s yard sign is name recognition, then it should be designed to maximize the possibility that someone can drive by and quickly identify a name and an office. I would argue that name recognition is not helped by pictures, stars, fireworks, flags, and anything else that distracts the eye from the name.
The same goes for words that are superfluous on a sign. Words like “elect,” “help elect,” “vote” and “please vote” seem excessive to me. If we see a political sign in an election year that says “Jane Doe, State Representative,” don’t we know that the sign implies that we vote for or help elect her to that position? Does anyone see such a sign without those words and ponder, “I wonder if that sign is telling me to vote for her?”
When I see those extra words, I want to erase them and then enlarge the name of the candidate on the sign. Perhaps these extra words are a product of our Southern hospitality. It just wouldn’t be proper manners to leave out “please” or “help.”
The only exception to the superfluous words is “re-elect.” In Mississippi politics, the incumbent definitely has an advantage. The adage used to be “once elected, always elected.” While that is not necessarily true anymore, it’s true enough that “re-elect” (in small letters, mind you) has its place on a sign.
How about campaign commercials on television? They can be fun to watch too. I have heard that including children in a commercial is always a winner. But if you really want folks to pay attention to a commercial, show a dog. Who can resist a golden retriever being patted on the head by a friendly-looking candidate? Most of us would like that person even if we didn’t know what party they were or what office they sought.
Whether you vote for him or not, can we all agree that Delbert Hosemann has the best political commercials on TV? They were great four years ago, and he wisely decided, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He took a negative and turned it into a positive. Delbert is not the most attractive or intelligent name, but he realized name recognition is the key. I predict Herbert, I mean Delbert, will run for higher office one day and use the same type of commercial with success.
Finally, it’s interesting to watch candidates run for office by distancing themselves from government. They want to be a leader in government, in some cases to be the top person in government, and they gain support by claiming to know nothing about it. No other job applicant would ever do such a thing.
One candidate with no legislative experience was bragging about it recently. His opponent responded, “He’s like a car mechanic going around asking to fix your car, when he’s never even set foot in a garage.”
If politics makes a good spectator sport, then fasten your seat belt. The next 18 months will be a bumpy ride.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.